Continental Eco Contact 3

OK this might not be the ideal car to test such tyres on but bare with me on this one. Because the Beetle is an old and - by today's standards - quite unusual vehicle, small changes like a tyre change make a huge difference on the car.

I have to say, I'm very impressed with these Contis. I had them for almost 3 years and their wear is slow and even.
In terms of comfort and refinement they are well above average, on par with the Brdigestone Turanzas I had before.
Handling-wise they are very progressive and offer decent responsiveness and grip for a tyre of this type.
More importantly though their Bionic design (which increases the tyre's contact with the road by ~10% under hard braking/acceleration) was very much appreciated on a couple of emergency brakings, something best avoided with an old Beetle! But nevertheless they performed impeccably in these conditions as well as in a couple of high speed manoeuvres on wet roads.
I was also happy to notice a considerable decrease in fuel consumption especially during motorway cruising.

I would definitely recommend them and I'm more than likely to replace them with the same ones.

Had a pair of these on the rear for the last few thousand miles. Overall they seem to be a pretty decent tyre. They wear very slowly, and aren't too noisy or uncomfortable.

Previously had Bridgestone B391s, which I still have on the front. The biggest difference is absolute traction. The back end will now come begin to come around under weight transfer, whereas the B391s remained planted even when worn.

For economy they are a good choice, but I would avoid putting them on the front because I don't feel the braking and cornering ability is enough for my liking. Only on the odd spirited drive or an emergency stop would it make much difference though.

Having said that, they are perfectly fine if you want a decent tyre and wont be pushing them at any point.

Excellent tyres very smooth and quiet on an already quiet engine. they have lasted 40k which in my opinion in and around town has been excellent.

Excellent tyres very smooth and quiet on an already quiet engine. they have lasted 40k which in my opinion in and around town has been excellent.

Initial impression was how quiet the tyres were and ride comfort improved over the previous Toyo tyres they replaced.
Excellent feel and not once in the 30,000 miles they were on did they give me any cause for concern,even when down to the legal limit on tread depth.a new set of the same will be fitted shortly despite the premium price,they are worth the feeling of safety and control they induce

We use our 1.0 Corsa for commuting, shopping and occasional longer runs.

We bought it new and it came with Eco Contact tyres. The fronts lasted nearly 50,000 miles, which to me is outstanding. The backs still have around 5mm tread left and they have now done over 55,000 miles.

Price for the replacements was arond £100 fitted for the pair, so I saw no reason to break with a winning combination. If you have a low-powered Corsa and drive with a light touch, this really is the only choice IMO

Bought these to fit my small sports car. You might think odd choice to buy an "Eco" tyre, but because I was looking to keep the same size and profile as factory standard, there's very little choice, usually each brand only has one model, which I think is the case with Continental too.

Anyway, replaced all four tyres at once with Continental Eco 3, chosen mainly because of a good review in Which? magazine that praised the fact that this is a completely new design, unlike the other regular European brands (you know the ones), whose designs are 10-20 years old. Good handling in the dry or wet and good wear they stated, got me thinking these where the ones to go for.

Unfortunately the immediate impression from driving the car out from the tyre fitter was lack of grip, which has persisted to this day, and 18 months later its still the same. Compared with the old tyres (Michelin Energy's which were the same size and profile) the change in handling of the car is staggering. I thought that because the Michelins where an "energy" model they would be similar to the Continentals "Eco" model, but I have found that is not the case.

I replaced all four because the cars' engine is at the back the front tyres don't wear at all - but were nearing 10 years old (and were showing small visible cracks), the rears needed replacing because they were nearing their wear limits.

Where it used to give that sports car feeling of driving on rail tracks round high speed corners, all that is now gone, replaced with just nagging understeer, vagueness and general softness.

I would thought they would be great for car models where low noise is a factor though, but that's pointless for my application!

I'm not happy at all and will replace them as soon as they show a little wear. A waste of money for me.

Simply no other rival. My car now feels like it has powers steering.

Grip levels are incredible, tyres squeel very comfortably and giving amazing feedback. Stick like glue in dry and wet conditions

Significantly reduced my braking distances and fuel consumption. After buying these for my car (first car) i will, from now on, buy the top of the range tyres and these are just that. 10/10 for almost everything and definatly recommeneded

Always gets good reveiew from magazines and I can see why.

But no discernible effect on fuel consumption and faster wearing than any other tyre I've had.

I'm not going there again.

Great responsive tire providing excellent grip in all conditions except no experience in snow as I'm living in South Africa. They came as OE on my 2006 Ford KA Lux and I would probably have fitted them again as far as comfort, safety, responsiveness and handling is concerned. But I have never had tires that have given me as much grieve as far as reliability goes! The smallest pothole in the road will cause sidewall bubbles and I should know as I have replaced 3 of the four tires before 15000 miles due to this problem- on seperate occasions! Will not buy this again!